Northwestern suffers a massive collapse

The Big Ten action on Saturday was nothing short of fun to watch. Six teams were in action and we saw one neck and neck game, one amazing collapse and one game that was never all that close. Now that we are down to the final games of the regular season, every game becomes important for the Big Ten tournament and seeding. Let’s take a look at how these teams fared.

Game of the Night:

-Michigan State Spartans 65, Northwestern Wildcats 60

This is one that will haunt the Wildcats for a long time. They were taking on the No. 2 ranked Spartans on their home floor without Bryant McIntosh who was sidelined with a shoulder injury and led by as much as 27 points and was up 49-27 at the half. Everything was gong perfectly until the clock started for the second half.

In the final 20 minutes, the Wildcats shot just 3-for-26 from the field and 1-for-10 from three. They scored a measly 11 points in the second half and were outscored by 27. Vic Law led the way for the wildcats with 21 points and Gavin Skelly added 11. This loss is just another disappointment to a sub par year for the Wildcats, who were expected to make the NCAA tournament this season. They fall to 15-13 on the year and 6-9 in the Big Ten.

For the Spartans, it was the complete opposite. They went from shooting 33 percent from the field in the first to 54 percent in the second. Leading the way for Michigan State was Cassius Winston with 17 points and Nick Ward with 15, respectively. This was a big comeback for the Spartans as it keeps them in a tie for first place with Ohio State.

The Rest:

-Indiana Hoosiers 84, Iowa Hawkeyes 82

This was a back and forth and high scoring affair with both teams shooting the ball well. For Indiana, it was their impeccable three-point shooting that ultimately helped them hang on in this one as they shot 14-for-24 from deep. Robert Johnson had the game of his life, scoring 29 points on 10-for-14 from the field and an incredible 9-for-12 from three. Devonte Green and Justin Smith added 18 and 15 for the Hoosiers

For Iowa, Tyler Cook had 28 points and added 10 rebounds and the Hawkeyes shot 27-for-49 from the field on the day. Luka Garza and Jordan Bohannon added 17 and 10, but Bohannon was only 3-for-12 and 2-for-10 from deep. The Hawkeyes fall to 12-17 on the year and just 3-13 in conference play

-Maryland Terrapins 61, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 51

In the nightcap of Saturday’s games, Maryland took on Rutgers and proved to take care of them pretty easily. Maryland led 31-19 at the half and Rutgers never quite cut into the lead and even let it get to 20 at one point. This was much lower scoring than the Iowa and Indiana game. For Maryland, freshman Bruno Fernando had 18 points and 16 rebounds on an efficient 8-for-9 from the field. Anthony Cowan and Kevin Huerter added 14 and 11 each. One concern for the Terrapins has to be their bench as they added only five points in this one. It did not prove to hurt them today but come conference tournament time, they must provide more support.

For Rutgers, not much scoring was supplied today. They shot just 22-for-58 from the field and 3-for-19 from behind the arc. Forward Eugene Omoruyi was the only Scarlet Knight in double figures with 11 points. Star Guard Corey Sanders had just six points on a disappointing 3-for-14 from the field. Rutgers falls to 13-16 and 3-13 in conference play.